


Shrouded Perils

by Giligan_Grapes



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Survivor shenanigans, felix POV, flirty Ghostface, made-up game dynamic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:26:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28203087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Giligan_Grapes/pseuds/Giligan_Grapes
Summary: The Entity throws the Survivors a curveball when it grants them the ability to exchange places on hooks when in close proximity. Mistrust and anger reside by the campfire until an agreement is reached, but newer and even nastier surprises start to unfold. Written from mixed POVs but mostly Felix's.
Relationships: Danny "Jed Olsen" Johnson | The Ghost Face/Felix Richter
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter I

**Author's Note:**

> Hello All! This is very much a work in progress - I have no exact ending in mind but it will not be a long fic.

Novelty was a mostly welcome guest amidst the fog but it did instill anxiety or anger in some of the survivors. Even then, they tried to manage it an efficient way and did not let it sour the already tenuous situation they were in. Whenever someone stormed out of a match ready to throw fists or hung back dejected, they sat down and talked it out. It worked surprisingly well and even if they reached their wits’ end, they just made the offenders fill up Vigo’s Swear Jar with offerings and commodities they could spare which were then re-distributed on a need-to basis.

Felix was rarely the source of contention on either the culprit or the victim’s side. He carefully walked on the middle ground between the daredevil and the deadweight, so there was no reason for animosity on his part. Occasionally he slipped a passive-aggressive item into the Jar to show his exasperation at a costly hiccup made by one of his fellow survivors, but that was it. For all it’s worth, a couple goody two-shoes kept throwing in valuables when they felt like they let their trialmates down. Claudette was known for doing this, especially when she was too slow to heal the downed ones before they were hooked.

Of course, there were some rules as to who could grab items from the Jar: they had to go five matches without needing to contribute to the tally. The Entity was surprisingly on top of their system, she even kept a logbook around that could be accessed by anyone but each survivor only had clearance to look at their own points, the others were shrouded. Also, they could only contribute fully charged items after a fiasco with a half-depleted med kit, an overly apologetic Ace, a shaking Dwight and an overzealous Hillbilly. Coincidentally, this event “almost” made them add an additional rule of having to pay tribute even outside of trials when the following conversation ensued.

“I fuckin’ loathe that cunt, the spider spawn. Eh heh, spider spawn… in short, SS…” David guffawed. He was fresh out of the trial and was airing his animosities with the Entity who was about the only party they could criticize with abandon.

Nea shook her head. “I hardly see any parallels between an immortal spider god and an extremist political group, but okay. Also, cheap shot.”

“You are right! Lemme’ correct, she’s bloody Hitler and the killers are the SS. Thank god for your spotless Scandinavian education, Nea.” David then turned to Felix. “What do you think, did I do the history math right on this one?”

“Why me?” inquired Felix, which made the fearless skater groan and the boxer slyly grin.

“First of all,” Nea started before the other could. “he was just being a Germanophobe mastermind with that one. Second of all, history math might be the second stupidest thing you could say today, David.”

“Ease up with the compliments, mate, or you shall be subject to present thyself before our mighty toll bearer, the formidable Swear Jar, our foremost ruler.” the Brit replied with great affectation. “Also, I have no problems with ya, Felix. You never say ‘What a cold day, right?’ when I am in a trial half-naked.” he shot a look at Nea and continued pointedly. “Or drawing a thick line between my eyebrows when I sleep so that when I need to go, I will carry on with a unibrow ‘cause the nonce Entity won’t change our appearance once in trial. Can’t bloody believe the number of times the killers closed the hatch on my face ‘cause they said they did not want the big hairy worm infestation to spread around from my face. Right, ya Nordic maverick?” He seemed to get lost in memories but Ace perked up.

“Actually, the second one was me, bud.”

Felix was glad the rest of the survivors returned from their respective matches soon as they needed all the manpower to stop the commotion caused by David and Ace. But it was in good jest and there was no trouble in their hell except these occasional quarrels.

Now, he was going into a match. He did not pick anything from the Jar beforehand, not because he did not earn it, but because he had no need for it. He knew some survivors were actually counting on getting something useful out of it when they were out of bloodpoints so he made sure he only touched it when absolutely necessary. The three other participants were Jake, Meg and Quentin.

The fog that took them to their destination subsided somewhat and he found himself in Silent Hill, a map filled with lovely little corners and a sprinkle of convenient dark bushes. Still, he could not afford to think about those hiding spots right at the start, he better make himself useful and find a generator to kick back to life.

He wandered about a handful of rooms on the first floor before a slumbering gen caught his eye. He quickly crouched down to work. There were no prickles on his skin and he heard no disconcerting sounds, it was coming along nicely. It did not even feel like those times when confidence got the better of him and lulled him into falsehoods about safety. This time seemed a genuine break between two shitstorms. Maybe the killer was busy traipsing the considerably big center area with the aforementioned bushes. God knows how many times they cursed the conniving survivors as the latter sat right there after evading the opposition’s attacks, just out of reach.

A painful shout made it known that peace was over, though. Its source was not that far away but Felix still felt comfortable with finishing the gen and then scurrying away. No one came for him, but the injured survivor was downed very soon. The architect could have gone for another gen but he chose to creep towards the hook he presumed the killer would go for. When he turned a corner, he got a good enough visual of the hook and the killer – Ghostface - who got ready to hoist Quentin up. He realized a second later that Jake was also there, halfway between Felix and their occupied trialmate, peering through a doorway. He made eye contact with Felix and made a silent gesture to show the other that he will try to save the now-hooked young boy. They both hoped they would not get into a hopeless bottleneck where Ghostface would block one possible escape route; with nowhere to go but back where they came from, without a chance to get out of sight in the long hallway; the three of them also stumbling into each other.

Ghostface seemed to be game today, as he did not wait around, rather he sauntered towards the sound of a now popped gen. Jake lunged forward and that’s when it all came to an utter travesty.

Like a magician’s trick coming together, he instantly disappeared in a black fog and a confused and still injured Quentin stepped in his place instead. Simultaneously, Jake’s re-appearance was made known by his cries that came from the end of the hook that trapped Quentin before.

“What the fuck!” Felix shouted. Quentin jumped at the pitch and looked utterly directionless. Meanwhile, Ghostface circled back to them, with no savior in sight.

The two survivors turned back and aimed for a loop-able area. Felix tried to conjure up the locations of pallets in his mind that could aid them but he knew they may not make it to any of them in time. He pushed Quentin forward and spun around fast. “Run!” he barked at him and thankfully he was present enough to make a dash for it. Ghostface tutted and slashed at Felix who could not stop himself from crying out in pain but stood his ground. There was no sense in anything else at that point, maybe he could hold back the killer enough to gain enough time for Meg to unhook Jake and find a gen to work on. Or maybe the trial was lost then and there, when mysterious forces made Jake go on the hook, claiming Quentin’s place.

“Feeling heroic, do we? Although, not heroic enough to go on the hook for your friend…” Ghostface taunted.

His prey shook with anger. So, it was him who brought that ghastly dynamic to the match! What could it be and how could it be so cruel? He had to pry, he needed to know… “What did you do, you second-hand Halloween scare?”

“Halloween is one mere night, baby, I am DTFYU all year. Which means, down to fuck you up, since you are so unimaginative for the blond little heartthrob that you are.” he mockingly started to fan himself with his free hand.

“Can we skip to the part where you answer my question?”

“Oh sorry, my mind works backwards, so next time start with the insult, dummy. Also, as much as I enjoyed the surprise on your faces, I did not have anything to do with that neat little move we saw earlier and now I don’t feel like telling you more details, nasty little one.” Ghostface pouted. Felix all-so-slightly stepped back a bit (those bushes are still there for the taking after all) but his stalker enemy did not mess around anymore and simply stepped forward to plunge his knife into him. “But we can try to replicate it!”

The bushes remained untouched until the end of the match that came five minutes later. Felix died on the hook as Ghostface went for Meg after him who could not reach Jake on time - poor soul tried to find Quentin to heal him but he was nowhere to found. Eventually, the young boy could not escape the grasp of the Entity when all of his other teammates died on the hook, one after another, with Ghostface laughing to himself while closing the hatch.

“Very nice move indeed, Spidy. Just leave something for us, too, before they destroy themselves.”


	2. Chapter II

Quentin liked helping people. He even lifted their spirits sometimes by simply being there. Naturally, what just transpired shook him to his core.

He did notice at the beginning of the trial that something was amiss. In fact, that was the reason Ghostface caught him so off guard. Before going into a match, each survivor experienced a short meditative state in which they decided which abilities they would use in the upcoming escape attempt. Quentin set his mind on some defensive tactic involving faster co-operative generator repair and healing but at the last moment leading up to the actual commencement, he felt a weird sensation, like he forgot something. He was so pre-occupied trying to figure out the source of this issue that he ignored all warnings and was butchered by the killer.

Then, on the hook, the unknown still ailing him, he had a definitive moment. He had an anticipatory thrill, just like those times he touched the wrong wires on a generator and had only a second to correct himself to avoid a loud misfire. He concentrated, then… he was next to Felix, his body freed from the hook, with Jake replacing him. The older man shouted something and broke his trance enough to start to scramble for an escape route, but it was for naught. The match was failed then and there, the sudden and total betrayal.

After completing a trial, the participants appeared together whether some were killed halfway through. This instance was no different, but hardly did Quentin catch a glimpse of the campfire before Jake was on him.

“What the hell was that, Smith?” his horribly disgruntled friend yelled.

Felix was up to the brim with questions. If it wasn’t Ghostaface’s doing, then how could Quentin pull off such a powerful yet wicked maneuver? He was a solid kid, coming from a traumatic background. He was far from faulting him for what he did, but why? This was well into the taboo territory that everybody agreed on. This was not a lighthearted mistake that could be corrected by the Jar, this was some unprecedented bullshit.

Close to him, Jake was firmly planted in Quentin’s personal space trying to get answers out of the boy, but he could come up with none.

“I swear, I do not know what I did! It was like that one ability that Laurie taught me to get the killer let go of me, it worked the same way. I did not want to make you go on the hook!”

Some of the girls swarmed them to put distance between the two. Felix wrung his hands and sat down on a log. He was not about to pile more trouble on the insomniac teenager but knew he would eventually be called forward as a witness.

Moments later, Meg sat down next to him and sighed. “I feel like I should help Quentin but I really don’t know what went down there. Besides, I have been wrecking my brain about something and wanted to run it by you before telling the others since you had the fortune of being there and you are like book-smart, too.”

“Really? What do you want to share with me?”

“So, we get bloodpoints in matches, right? And then we can buy things from the Entity, provided we have enough.”

“The bloodweb, yes.” Felix interjected.

“And we have a wider net of things to buy when we prove ourselves worthy enough, correct? But you can never know what the bloodweb will show when you reach a new layer of it. It is a random selection.” Meg draw a breath that Felix used to get a word in.

“But we have a general idea what the new level could be based on some factors, for example previous layers and the items and abilities we already have on hand.”

Meg smiled triumphantly.

“Yes! Therefore, going from than angle… the Swear Jar is, like, cheating, isn’t it?”

The architect fell deep into thoughts. “If we consider that for each sale to be made, we would need to sacrifice something of value in the most common sense of a transaction, then indeed it could be established that the Jar tricks the system.”

“The Jar is based on honor and esprit de corps.” Meg continued. “It was supposed to be an exclusive thing for us survivors, you know? To keep the little rascals of the group in check in a playful way. No one interfered with it surprisingly, you know, from above?” Meg pointed upwards conspiratorially, making Felix chuckle. “Then the Entity began to bolster this thing we had, keeping tabs and whatnot.”

“You concluded that the Entity must be up to something.” Felix assumed.

“It sounds like you guys set this up yourselves.” a voice interrupted, petting both of them on the back. The two looked behind them and saw Steve plopping down on the ground. They shifted their positions to face him. Felix wanted to reason the opposite of the statement but Meg nodded. He went on to explain his doubts.

“I don’t understand, the Entity is the ruling force here. No wonder it took control of everything here, even this innocent game. How does this relate to the present incident, anyway?”

Steve exchanged a look with Meg. “Okay, Felix, you want my expert opinion on this. You are a refined gentleman, I know, but you are aware of the modus operandi of the fog: it gets half-chubbed for bad things, it wants failure and sweat and tears and...” Steve caught himself. “So, what does a mean bastard do to get their way? They do unfair shit. Trust me, I was a baddie back in the day.” Meg scoffed and tousled his hair in an affable fashion. He swiftly set it back and continued. “Take this Jar. Someone misbehaves, yadda yadda, they pay for it. But what is it that they also put in it?”

Felix did not want to guess anything stupid so he looked at Steve quizzically.

“Negativity, dude. It only seems fair and fun to us to punish one another in this manner, but this alien SOB does not know what normal human quirks are. It only sees that someone was angry and then they are slightly, ahhem, mostly not angry after depositing a thingie into another tingie. So it twisted the ever living shit out of that and used up all the collateral bad stuff that we associated with the Jar as our coping mechanism. We Scooby-snacked the Entity full of pent-up frustration.”

Meg clapped. “A plus, very well done. How did you come up with that on your own?”

“I told you, bullies love to take up freebies. I know how they think.”

“Okay, that seems plausible. How about Quentin’s case, how would you crack that one?” Felix asked.

“Dunno, wasn’t there. Meg, it’s your turn.”

The redhead gladly took the mantle. “Quentin was the only one to take something from the Jar before the match you had together. I deduce what he took was the metaphorical wrench that was thrown in.”

“How could he not see what it was? He claims to have been blind-sided.”

“That’s where the sinister nature of Entity comes in. I think he had been intentionally set up.”

“By conclusion, we have been jinxed by the Entity because we overdosed it on negativity. But what is it the it gave him exactly?”

Felix, Meg and Steve looked around for Quentin. He was bunched up at a farther spot, obviously wishing to be left alone. Meg swung to action nonetheless.

“Care to share my views with the others while I fetch Quentin? We should have a survivors’ meeting in five minutes.”

Quentin stood in front of the campfire, visibly anxious to speak to all his peers at once.

“I am sorry for all the trouble that I caused.”

Claudette nudged Jake who made an exasperated sound and added. “I am sorry for reacting so angrily to what happened.”

“Why do you think it was Quentin?” Laurie piped up.

“He fell asleep at a previous match and let me loop the Hag endlessly instead of fixing gens. I thought he somehow found a way to get back at me for the earful that I gave him.”

“Well, you know the rule.” Dwight pointed in the direction of the Jar. Felix got ready to speak up but Meg shushed him by squeezing his elbow. 

Jake went up to his belongings, rummaged through them and walked back with a Commodius Toolbox and a pair of gloves. He flipped the lid of the enormous Jar that was laid sideways on two stools for easier access and put in the items.

Almost instantly, his shoulders seemed to drop from their tense position. Meg hummed knowingly and whispered to Felix. “That is just evil.”

The architect was able to see the point this time: the Entity did connect its new toy to the existence of the Jar. They unknowingly gave the spider a classic positive feedback loop and it just learned to perform for the Scooby snacks. It gave them what they wanted: a tool made from their own anger that they could now inflict on each other. Hopefully they could explain it to the others and pull themselves together. He whispered back to Meg. “Will you reveal it to them as well?”

“No sense in not doing it.” the girl said and walked up to Quentin, calmingly stroking his arm first then addressing the crowd.

“What happened was all of our fault. We came up with the idea of the Jar to settle differences. Unfortunately, all we did was to feed anger to the Entity and it got full as of today. The last thing I saw Quentin do before the match is that he took something from it, can you confirm it?”

“Yes” Quentin agreed.

“And it did not reveal itself to you at all, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And Jake, were you very mad at Quentin right up until you used the Jar again?”

“Uhm… yes.” Jake answered with a surprised but cautious look.

“It was the Entity and us who did this. The Entity doesn’t know the purpose of a swear jar but could feel it filling up. In exchange for our hatred, it rewarded us this new thing…”

“It is an ability” Quentin maintained. “It works like one, I said it earlier. It is like Laurie’s decisive strike but I could not tell what it did before using it.”

“An ability that cannot be sensed, only when convenient? That sounds suspicious.” Nea said, crossing her arms. Steve quickly went for the save.

“It is but do not fall for the Entity’s shit-stirring, the spider is behind all of this.”

Bill coughed and went on. “I am sure you kids heard of ‘divide and rule’, it is a notorious tactic used not only by the military.”

“It is clear, then” Zarina ruled. “We should stop using the swear jar and not use this new ability.”

“It could be what the Entity wants” Jane objected. “Maybe we could use this thing to our advantage… and mess with the killers.”

Kate excitedly squeaked. “Y’all, I’ve been craving to mess with the killers for the longest time!”

Upon hearing this, everyone started to talk over each other, hatching new plans to run the killers around. Felix scratched his chin, pondering about what he would do, were he to exploit the new-found ability. Who would he target out of the killers, which survivor would he rather replace on the hook? Who would save him from the hook this way?

A new sentiment seemed to go around the camp. The aftershock of the disastrous match wore thin and they were ready to consider a silver lining.

“Are we all on the same page, then? Should we continue like nothing happened and feed the Entity and use this perk to best those filthy killers?” Ash roared at the crowd, resulting in ovation.

“And what should we call this new ability?” Feng Min shouted over the excitement. Heather seemed to have something in mind.

“Honey, the Entity wanted to fuck with us, play the rules against us but we will fight back. If nothing else, it is our self-insurance against this monster.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologizefor this chapter being heavily dialogue-ridden. Action will come soon.  
> Also, see the description of the new perk below:  
> Self-insurance: Helping your fellow man may not always be an option, but you may help yourself. After being hooked by the Killer, Self-insurance will become active and usable until second struggle phase is reached. While Self-insurance is active, succeed a Skill Check to automatically exchange places with the nearest survivor.  
> The insuree will have the Wronged Status Effect until sufficient payments are made to Vigo’s Swear Jar.  
> “The prospect of escaping could not have been thwarted more effectively. I think we have been set up.”


	3. Chapter III

For a while the survivors thought it possible that the new ability could not be acquired on the bloodweb – it was nowhere to be found in the Jar, but at least no other mystery items surfaced yet, either. One by one they were able to get their hands on it eventually, but it took quite a lot bloodpoints. It seemed the Entity liked to really make them work for it.

Having Self-insurance at their disposal, the survivors decided that they would use it as a possible last resort option as it was very situational. In case someone was put on the hook for the first time and the other(s) deemed it was a viable course of action, they were encouraged to switch places. Those who gave their lives for their trialmates were called ‘feinters’ – the name took its origin in a military tactic that aimed to divert the enemy.

They knew not all of the killers would fall for feinting. It did not seem to work on the Doctor in particular who just sent surge after surge while facecamping the hooked survivor, preventing any teammate to come close without alerting the grinning psychopath with a scream or becoming almost paralyzed with insanity. The Huntress elected to stay close to the hooked victim as well and threw hatchets at anyone who attempted to near her.

As an overall counterplay, the killers downed everyone in chases as quickly as they could and left them on the ground wounded so no one could come to the rescue of the sacrifice. This victory did not last long or at least was made a bit more difficult. The spider annexed that in case of a switch, the newly escaped but downed survivor would skip the dying state and have an additional three seconds’ head start, granted by a boost in their running speed.

While they were busy filling the Jar and wishing for a better outcome than Self-insurance, the killers were high on their schadenfreude over the ‘botched’ new survivor ability, especially Ghostface who hosted the premier party for it (in his words). Whenever he caught a whiff of someone intending to use it in a trial, he went into stalker mode and tirelessly surprised them at every turn they made.

Little did they know that the killer had preliminary scoop on a number of them back in the day. In his freelance career at multiple different newspapers, he produced an article on Jane’s Quick Talk; it was sarcastically titled “’Not My Daughter Either!’ - George A. Romero to Also Disown Quick Talk’s Host and It’s No Surprise”, written right after Jane’s interview with her famous actress mother who claimed no blood relation to the survivor on live television. Sadly, the piece was pulled when Jane went missing since it thoroughly dragged the woman’s name through the mud and it was deemed to be “poor in taste”. On another occasion, he got to work on a delightfully trashy gossip column, listing the “European Bachelors Who Made It – Top Twenty-Five Men to Date If You Want to Marry Into Success” that included one Felix Richter. The fact that he wasn’t a bachelor anymore did not bother anyone at the newspaper, his face printed alongside the other handsome heirs sold the issue like hotcakes. All in all, Ghostface relished in quoting Jane’s own show at her in her darkest moments during a trial and quipping at Felix’s supposed vanity.

Felix groaned when he saw Ghostface’s cloak once again. He was dragged into the Red Forest alongside Dwight, Yui and Elodie and he opted to follow Yui upon learning the killer’s identity. He couldn’t stand the masked jokester in the slightest, therefore he wished to cause some trouble to him by feinting and setting Yui free. Presumably, she should have Self-insurance in her pocket, she claimed to have it on her all the time now.

As usual, the stalker avoided their line of sight while they were fixing their first gen, Yui using a toolbox to aid the process. Felix could see the outline of Dwight and Elodie hard at working, then suddenly the latter disappeared – she either hid in a locker or fled over the limits of the aura-sensing ability. Dwight followed suit soon enough. Felix wondered if any of the two chose to bring Self-insurance with them, looping their assailant into oblivion and buying them time. Yui was not their sole chance at annoying the other side, even if she had the new ability on her every match these days. Dwight was a scaredy cat but could be headstrong and Elodie was… she was persistent.

Yui rolled her eyes approximately three seconds before they heard the following taunt. “Fix-y Felix-y and Yui Kablooey, how ya doin’?”

Felix cursed under his breath but didn’t move. Yui didn’t seem deterred at all. She admittedly liked to stretch situations to dangerous extremities. Felix was quietly assessing his chances. If he was hooked before his gen-partner… 

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t one of you start running and the other try their damnedest to get them off the hook with one of those dirty shenanigans? You know, one of those _clever_ moves that I could not ever see from a mile away?” continued Ghostface, twirling his knife. “Are you heavy learners or somethin’? You can’t escape from Papa Ghostface.”

“We might still try it, you know” Yui noted, not stopping repairing the gen for a moment. Felix peeked at the other two survivors’ position. They resumed working on a gen nearby. The architect was well aware that the others liked to intentionally irk the Ghostface since he was nothing short of an insufferable bonehead who was only silent when he really wanted to, but Felix wasn’t sure if the others had concocted a plan that he wasn’t privy to. The other three did start the trial together. 

“Is that right? Then you don’t mind if I borrow this gentleman, do you?” the killer swooped in and snatched Felix off of the generator, slinging him over his shoulder and starting for a hook. He babbled on as he went, his victim wiggling with all his might. The other survivors did not move a muscle.

“I know you are going crazy with speculations as to why I chose to pick you up when that bitch was awfully mouthy, but be assured I know what I’m doing.” More like, Ghostface was curious what the others wanted to do. Their minds must have gone through the shitter for real this time if they thought they could make the new ability work. What the Entity did was a cruel but effective maneuver, contributing a no-good agent into the mix and have it blow in the survivors’ faces when they fail to use it in any meaningful way. Perhaps the Spider wanted to shake things up around the fog, they were getting rather comfortable and it was craving a little in-fight as those were mostly unprecedented. No wonder the Japanese girl and the other two acted so disoriented when they were fucked over so hard. Not to mention Smarmy McGee here who ceased objecting. A moment later, Ghostface understood why.

Yui was crouching next the hook Felix was supposed to go on, sabotaging it. To add insult to injury, Elodie jumped up from the cover of a stonewall nearby and shone a flashlight straight into the killer’s eyes who lost grip on Felix. The lucky survivor broke into a sprint when he landed, looking back only briefly. Why did the girls go all out for him? Dwight ran by to help him towards a safe point. A lull came to pass before they heard Yui’s scream.

“That’s her first hook” Felix said, albeit needlessly. “We are out of radius, but I think Elodie will be able to get her.”

“We should work on a gen” Dwight agreed. They carefully approached a gen on the opposite side of the grounds and busied themselves with fixing. Felix couldn’t help but notice that Dwight kept looking back in the girls’ direction but he chalked it up to his trial jitters. With any luck, he would keep his composure long enough to finish up the gen.

“How come Yui is still on the hook?” Felix asked him eventually.

“Well, considering that they are up to their neck with their _own_ objective…” the architect grabbed Dwight’s hand to halt his movements.

“What objective? To get each other off from the hook?”

“I wish it was as simple as that…”

Felix lost his temper. “Dwight!” he exclaimed.

“I am the panicky one, right? They shouldn’t have excluded you but Elodie said you were ‘intimidated by risky stuff’ and I ‘wasn’t a leader for nothing’. But their idea was so atrocious…!”

They acknowledged in silence that Yui reached the middle stage. Felix wanted to make a dash for the hook but wished to learn what the girls came up with. “What is their idea?”

“They want to sacrifice Yui so that they could drop an offering to the Jar and see what happens.”

“Okay, that does sound a little risky but nothing that atrocious, those two are known to be bold.”

“They want to do all of that during the match.” Dwight spelled it out like Felix was hard of hearing. The older man still didn’t get it.

“The Jar isn’t here.”

Dwight cleared his throat impatiently. “… Elodie has it with her.”

“What?” Felix exclaimed. 

“When Yui dies on the hook, she will drop the item she has on her. If they did everything right, then Elodie already placed the Jar under her so when she is claimed by the Entity, the Jar could receive the offering.”

“But Yui is not dead yet… so Elodie could not put it there! They need help!” Just as the gen was completely done, Felix began to rush for the hook while searching for Elodie’s aura. Even if he thought their idea was insane, he had to see it through. His determination may have been spurred on by the comment about his aversity to ‘risky stuff’, yet he felt more driven by screwing over the killers. If they had a shot at amplifying the Jar’s power, this was it. How much stronger could an offering get than having it directly submitted after dying?

He spotted the sought-after aura shortly. The former Pariah was looping the agitated Ghostface around a pallet close to Yui’s place of torment. When they about reached scene of the chase, Felix turned to Dwight who slouched behind him. “Do you have any idea where the Jar is? I guess she doesn’t have it on her.”

“She hid it in a locker at the beginning.”

“You know which one then? Go get it!”

Dwight hardly scurried away when Yui let out a last scream, finishing her part of the trial. It was up to their trio now to make something of yet another disaster. Feinting was not an option with Yui gone, thus they needed to make do with what they had. Felix’s brain was addled by doubts. What if they lose and the Jar will be consumed by the Entity, given no one escapes? How could Elodie even bring it with her? It was no traditional survivor item.

Elodie finally fell prey to the killer. It was officially now or never then, no chance he could do this with Dwight alone.

Dwight came back panting, clutching the Jar in his hand. Felix clasped his sweat-soaked shoulder.

“We need to make this count. When she is hooked, I will deflect his attention and you run to her and no matter how harsh it sounds, tell her to die. Then we will see what happens.”

“What if he doesn’t fall for it? We just tried the same thing with…” Dwight blurted but was interrupted by Elodie being flung on a hook.

“We do it and that’s it. The killers will be alert if we don’t succeed, they will know something is amiss. This is a chance we can’t forfeit.” He didn’t dare announce his thoughts about the Jar disappearing in case of failure but he had a hunch that a number of survivors weren’t keen on keeping it anymore. Felix (and Elodie, it seems) treated the Jar as a learning opportunity, to see what the Entity had up its sleeves to enable their behavior regarding the Jar. The oldest to appear in the fog shared the same inclination, but the two of them encountered the Entity in their previous reality. They had to investigate the reason their lives got destroyed and how it works.

Felix cast one last (hopefully fatherly stern enough) look at Dwight then made a beeline for Elodie. Ghostface was waiting for any potential saviors right by her. How to eject him from his position?

“Hey, Ghostface. Now that Elodie’s hooked, do you have a moment to finish what you started earlier and deliver me from this trial? I had enough of your ugly mask.”

The killer scoffed. “You ran away yet again, holding hands with that other coward. This is no time to shit-talk. Also, your diversion tactic sucks.”

“Come on, I’m injured anyway.” Felix enticed him further. The killers were rightly cautious when the survivors offered themselves freely as it was never without a catch. Although, there were some trials they just frankly had enough and were looking for an easy way out. Those times filled the Jar handsomely. “I know you find killing us very pleasurable.” 

“I know I will find it immensely pleasurable to tear you up once your friend here dies.” Ghostface snarled, hitting Elodie once with his blade. “Don’t dream of making me go for you until then, princess. You gotta carry that ass over here if you want the stabby-stabby so much.”

“Felix!” Dwight hissed from a nearby cover behind the architect. Felix leaned against the wall next to him so that he could hear him better. “The Jar seems to be blocked by the Entity, it has that dark matter over the opening, I can’t reach into it.” Felix peered back to check. Indeed, Dwight’s fingers were stopped by the same black mist that seemed to block windows sometimes. Did the Entity catch up with them trying to abuse the Jar’s powers? Does it want some other form of offering? Desperate times… Dwight was beyond himself with despair. “What do we do now?” he whispered.

“Roll the Jar to me” Felix answered, turning his back to Ghostface who was watching his action with contempt but didn’t retaliate by back-stabbing. The anxious survivor bit his lip but did what he was told. Felix reached down to secure the Jar against his hip. Even empty, it was heavy. “Now scram and find the hatch if you can.” he told Dwight.

Felix turned back to Ghostface and started to stride towards him. “Would you kindly put my entrails in this jar?”

If there was ever such a thing with a killer as messed up as him, Ghostface seemed to be taken aback. “What did you say?”

Felix continued, unflinching - at least he tried hard not to give away his fear. “I am fascinated by ancient Egyptians. For their architecture, sure, but their burials were another thing. I know you are first and foremost a movie buff, but you must have heard of canopic jars.”

“Mainstream knowledge, dipshit, but you appear to be a few jars short. Just what is it that you want from this? You cannot be buried in the Fog, especially if it will be up to me.” Elodie was nearing the end of the struggle on the hook.

“I don’t want to be buried, you could carve me up while I’m alive.” Felix stated. “That’s the drill for you, right? Torture your victims in their last moments then put them out of their misery.”

After a resounding shriek, Elodie grew limp on the hook and the Entity collected her like loose change. Ghostface acknowledged the event with a satisfied groan, then raised his knife at Felix.

“Okay, I’m done with your shit.” he slashed twice at the unmoving survivor who fell to the ground. Once there, Ghostface crouched over Felix and grabbed a fistful of his hair, holding him up. “Since you regaled me with your knowledge, let me allude to another piece of culture, dumbass. Familiar with the tale of the Peasant’s Clever Daughter? Neither doing this, nor doing that? What if I neither eviscerated you, nor did I not eviscerate _you_? Could you guess this riddle, clever girl?”

Felix spluttered some blood out. “I guess that next time… we’re in a trial together… I am killing myself on the first hook… I detest you.”

“Don’t make good on that promise, baby, and don’t think I didn’t appreciate your antics today somewhat. So tell you what, I will find Dwight for you and bottle him up real nicely, okay?” Ghostface petted the survivor’s head with his knife-wielding hand.

“No… kill him if you want… but torture me…” Felix broke into a frantic coughing fit. Ghostface let go of his hair and stood up, taking the Jar from him with the same momentum.

“A gentleman to the end. I’ll let Dwight know that while I’m elbow deep in his liver so that he can think of you while I’m doing it. I know I will.”

Felix was left alone afterwards, slowly dying to his wounds, but he could still hear Dwight’s screams. He could only hope the Entity still played by their rules and the offering paid in literal blood would count towards the survivors’ team. He could only hope Dwight hated the killer more than him with his dying thoughts. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Afternote: I am not sure if the timelines align with the articles (I think by general consensus Danny was active as a killer in the 90’s) but I took some artistic freedom with it.  
> I am sorry for any inconsistencies, I don't have a beta.


End file.
